What are the best money-saving vegetable crops? There is a wealth of fruit and vegetables that are cost-effective, from fast-growing crops to those which almost produce more than you can eat. Here’s a list of our top 10 crops that give you the best bang for your buck, plus a video that explains more!
When money’s tight, growing your own nutritious fruits and vegetables is an empowering way to stretch precious budgets that little bit further. But which crops will save you the most money?
Top 10 Cost-Effective Crops
Here are our 10 favorite fruits, herbs, greens, and vegetables that will save you money…
1. Leafy Herbs
Save money by growing basil, parsley, cilantro and other leafy herbs to harvest fresh as required, picking only what you need at any time.
2. Cut-and-Come-Again Lettuce
By harvesting little and often, you can keep cut-and-come-again greens such as loose-leaf lettuce cropping for months.
3. Quick-growing Salad Toppers
Make repeat sowings of fast-growing salad toppers like radishes, baby beets, and scallions as you harvest throughout the growing season. Or, grow them between slower-growing crops so they don’t take up extra space.
4. Pole Beans
Healthy, filling, and protein-rich, pole beans are a very valuable crop. Keep up with picking the pods and they will continue to produce plenty all summer long.
5. Fruiting Vegetables
You only need a small space for fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers. They can be trained to grow vertically or climb, and will produce lots of fruits.
6. Garlic
Garlic is relatively expensive but takes up hardly any space, and it stores well, too—especially softneck varieties. Harvest garlic by midsummer and pop in a follow-on crop straight away to make the most of your space.
7. Celery
Harvest celery stem by stem as required and you’ll avoid the waste associated with buying whole heads of celery. Self-blanching varieties are the most straightforward to grow.
8. Zucchini
Incredibly prolific zucchini can be used in everything from stir-fries to cakes, so it easily earns its keep in the garden. Try growing companion flowers such as marigolds nearby to improve pollination and boost harvests further.
9. Soft Fruits
Soft fruits like blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries are pretty pricey, but they’re very easy to grow. Freeze or can any excess to get the best value from your harvest.
10. Leafy Greens
Hard-working leafy greens such as chard, arugula, and kale can be harvested for months for soups, stews and more for practically no money.
Try Out the Almanac Garden Planner
Ready to plan a garden that will yield a biggest harvest than you’ve had before? Our online Almanac Garden Planner is free for 7 days, which is plenty of time to play around on your computer and try it out! There are absolutely no strings attached. We are most interested in encouraging folks to try growing a garden of goodness!
Try out the Garden Planner on your computer here.
